Europe's hottest startups 2016: Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv's startups are driven by a mentality of 'we're all in this together'

Ellabar/iStock

Population 1.3 million

Size 52km2

Global cities index ranking 62

Something's changing in the startup nation. Where once Israel's tech scene was known for its high-value exits, local companies are now building world-class companies at home.

"Something clicked the past few years," says Eden Shochat, a partner at Tel Aviv-based Aleph Venture Capital. "The combination of past exits, the return of expats after acquisitions and the new-kibbutz mentality of 'We're in this together' is driving a second golden age of startups – this time focused on building big companies born in Israel."

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In addition to Tel Aviv's well-established technology expertise, there's another reason behind its continued success, according to AppsFlyer CEO Oren Kaniel, 40. "Because the local market doesn't exist, startups need to target global markets from day one."

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"You can ask: 'How many users did I get from this ad?' or 'How much revenue from this campaign?'" explains co-founder Oren Kaniel. It's raised $27.1 million and claims its SDK is found on 98 per cent of smartphones.

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Lightricks

App developer Lightricks makes photo-editing and design tools for smartphones and tablets. Its first app, Facetune, has more than 6m paid downloads; the second, Enlight, was a runner-up in Apple's best apps of 2015 and was a best-seller in 120 countries. After bootstrapping its early growth, the company raised £6.9m in August 2015 to expand, with "several" products planned for 2016.

Fundbox

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Fundbox helps small businesses with their cash flow. Rather than waiting up to 90 days for an invoice to clear, businesses can claim the exact amount on demand, with Fundbox taking a transaction fee each time. Its risk analysis plugs in to a company's existing accounting software to analyse each invoice individually - a system it claims significantly reduces defaults in comparison to traditional credit scores. Founded in 2013, the company has already raised $112.5 million from investors including Jeff Bezos and Ashton Kutcher.

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StoreDot

Materials-science startup StoreDot is developing ultra-fast-charging battery technology. The company, spun out of Tel Aviv University research into Alzheimer's disease, has created a smartphone battery that can be charged in one minute. In August 2015, it raised a further $18 million from the likes of Samsung Ventures and Singulariteam. Its aim: to build an electric vehicle battery that can charge in just five minutes, thus solving the problem of cars with limited range.

Argus Cyber Security

Hackers' latest target: your car. In 2015, an attack on a moving Jeep - just one of a series of high-profile hacks across multiple brands - led to the recall of 1.4 million Fiat Chrysler vehicles. Argus provides on-board security, or "multi-layered holistic protection", letting manufacturers track threats and respond to internet of things hacks in real time. Founded by former Israeli Defense Force officers in 2013, the company has raised $30 million in funding.

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YotPo

Co-founded by Tomer Tagrin and Omri Cohen in 2011, YotPo helps e-commerce businesses generate reviews and user-created media content and integrate them into their websites. The platform is now used by more than 100,000 startups and established businesses, has raised more than $30 million in funding, and claims growth of over 400 per cent in 2015.

Corephotonics

Despite the market's constant advances, smartphone cameras are still hobbled by sub-par digital zoom. Corephotonics wants to change that. Founded by Gal Shabtay and David Mendlovic in 2012, the company has a reported $28.3 million in funding to develop its solution: two cameras, which combine images to allow up to 5x optical zoom.

Colu

Colu wants to digitise ownership of real-world items - from cars to concert tickets - using the blockchain. Founded in 2014, the company has raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Aleph Venture Capital. It has partnered with Deloitte and is collaborating with a Barbados-based startup to introduce a Bitcoin-based "Caribbean dollar".

Shine

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Ad-blockers may be damaging to your favourite media brands (including WIRED), but that isn't stopping their rise. Shine, founded in 2011, lets mobile carriers provide network-wide ad-blocking. It has raised $3.3 million in funding led by Horizons Ventures and in February signed a deal with UK network Three to provide opt-in ad-blocking for its 8.8m customers.

Via

Ridesharing app Via's "dynamic buses" let customers summon shared rides on demand - and it claims to be cheaper and more efficient than single-occupancy services. Founded in 2012 by Daniel Ramot and Oren Shoval, the company raised $100 million in May 2016 to expand in the US, where it already operates in New York and Chicago.

Click here to explore the other startups on WIRED's 100 hottest European startups list

This article was first published in the October 2016 issue of WIRED magazine